Free Territory of Liberterra
The Free Territory of Liberterra , also referred to by the alternate spellings Liberterria ''and ''Liberterrania, is a modern pan-Russian state formed in 1990, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union. It self-identifies as the successor of a series of movements beginning in the 16th century and culminating in the arrival of missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is currently governed by a large provisional government, working to stabilize a crumbling post-Soviet economy in an open move towards anarcho-communism. Liberterra enjoys a deeply religious history and unites many historical religious movements as participants in a centuries-long struggle for Russian land. The affairs of state of Liberterrania, were taken over by the regent Revan in Spring 1990. Observers classify the big state as a conservative liberal plutocracy, known for its high national debt and the high bureaucracy. As of Spring 1994, most of the illiterate and permissive citizens are content with the circumstances. They have the reputation to be diligent and freedom-loving and enjoy an outstanding infrastructure. The biggest difference to other countries lies in the range of the distribution of capital: Liberterra is noted for it's nonownership of land and redistribution of goods. Demographics Main Page: Current Demographics of the Free Territory of Liberterrania Structure The Free Territory has no governing legislative, judicial, or executive body nor do they have any established system of economics. The Protectorate of the Free Territory was formed out of the Liberterrian movement in January of 1992 to act as the transitory body to oversee the move from post-Soviet socialism to true free-landed decentralized anarchism. The Free Territory enjoys a well established infrastructure and a relatively modern standard of living. Religion Main page: Russian Church of Jesus Christ of Mormons '' The official religion of the Free Territory is colloquially called "Russian Mormonism", "Tolstoyan Mormonism", or more simply, "Mormonism". It's governing ecclesiastical body is the Russian Church of Jesus Christ of Mormons, which has been in full communion with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since April of 1993. The Non-Possessors (15?? to 1551) In the sixteenth century, the Russian Orthodox Church experienced a radical movement in it's ranks called the Non-Possessors, led by Nilus of Sora , a now-Sainted monk. They strongly condemned the land ownership and wealth of the Church, claiming it had led to corruption. This movement enjoyed many similarities with the Catholic Franciscans, and was generally opposed by the clergy but garnered a strong following among the Orthodox laity. In 1551, the movement was finally defeated at the Stoglavy Council in Moscow, where the Church strongly defended it's right to property and exclusive ecclesiastical judicial jurisdiction. The ideas the movement remained as an intellectual influence on Russian thinkers, and would become the primary influence of the Liberterrian movement and the foundations for it's subsequent state. The Russian "Mormons" (1640's to 1870) ''Source file: Russian Mormonism '' Mid 17th century in Russia experienced a wealth of religious revivial in the form of the Khlysists and the Molokanists. The former embraced a mystical type of Russian peasant Christianity, rejecting the authority of the ecclesiastical Church in favor of living revelation and the influence of modern apostles and prophets; their "unorthodox" views included a deeply personal experience of God and spiritual marriage. The latter Molokanist movement evolved from the Khlysists, but advocated a much more traditional approach to the faith. They merged some of the liturgical elements of traditional Orthodoxy with the theology of the Khylsisite movement. The two movements influenced each other to a great degree, and grew in popularity until the 19th century. Some of the movement developed communal living, inspired by St. Nilus' ideology of common property and voluntary poverty. From 1855 to 1872, an influential and charismatic Molokan known as Ivan Grigorev Kanygin began organizing Khylsists/Molokans in the Novouzensk region of Russia into a type of communal living based upon the teachings of the New Testament. Much of his ideology came from a childhood of Molokan communism and early exposure to Methodist teachings. His followers called themselves simply "Methodists" or "communists". In 1869, an Orthodox priest named Khrisanf Rozhdestvenskiy applied the term "Mormon" to Kanygin's movement. By the 1870's, communal movements of a nature similar to Kanygin's Methodists began to arise in regions apart from their direct influence in the Novouzensk region. By that time, Mormonism was a popular title to attach to this large movement. In the later 1870's, the movement had developed into a charismatic community of peasants lead by primitive church organization; they placed heavy influence on modern revelation, one's own relationship with God, concepts of spiritual marriage, and communal living. It must be noted, however, that the two key concepts of American Mormonism, Book of Mormon and the Prophethood of Joseph Smith, Jr, were absent. The movement did, however, enjoy a strong sense of Christian primitivism and claimed to fulfill the restoration of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ apart from the Orthodox Church in modern times. This claim would be the deciding influential factor in the development of the modern Liberterrian Mormonism, essentially identical to primitive American Mormonism. Tolstoyan Influence (1852 to 1910) The "Mormon" movement of Russia was decidedly influenced by the work and writings of Leo Tolstoy . In his later life, the influential author would develop a personal faith very similar to the Khylsite/Molokan movement, upon which he expounded in his novels, autobiographies, and theological writings. Many of the movement hailed the Count as a modern day apostle, some even declaring him a prophet; although Tolstoy himself made no such claims, neither did he make any serious attempt to fight them. Tolstoy's works and advocacy of pacifism and communal living would have a significant influence on the development of the Novouzensk Methodists/Mormons/Communists, and subsequent "Mormon" groups. By this time, several generations of the communal movement had experienced a deep sense of "Mormon" identity. Russian Civil War (1917-1922) When the Russian Civil War struck with the rise to power of the Bolsheviks in 1917, the Russian Mormons attempted neutrality. The Mormon movement was briefly divided on the matter of engaging in violence, whether it was appropriate to take part in defensive warfare or stay loyal to Tolstoyan pacifism. As political violence wracked their various regions under every imaginable flag, many in the movement began to identify heavily with Nestor Makhno 's Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine . In response to the movement, Makhno strongly endorsed the Mormon's anti-land-ownership communal lifestyle, and in return, the Mormons generally supported Makhno's ideology and his guerilla campaign. For the most part, the Mormon communes enjoyed political neutrality in the conflict. Bolsheviks in Moscow endorsed their communist principles while anarchists hailed their decentralized sense of unity. In 1918, with the formation of the Free Territory of Ukraine , the communes began covertly supplying Makhno's forces. While unwilling to manufacture arms for the RIAU, the Mormons contributed food, horses, medical care, and asylum to the anarchists. Because of the intimate involvement of the Mormons and the RIAU, the two movements heavily influenced each other. Makhno grew to teach that true decentralized communism was necessary for the pragmatic functionality of any anarchist state, and many of the Mormons instantly identified Makhno's proclaimed anarchism with Tolstoy's antistatism. When the Free Territory of Ukraine was brutally crushed by Red Army forces, the Mormon communes recieved little retribution from Moscow. Red Army forces were already present in the Mormon communes, whom regarded the Reds as virtual allies, by the time news of the fall of the Free Territory reached them. The Mormons quickly fell in line with the transition of power from Tsarism to Leninist Bolshevism. Underground (1922 to 1990) When it became clear to the Russian Mormons that the totalitarian ideologue of Vladimir Lenin had little to do with their understanding of communism, they became vocal opponents of the regime. In response, Red troops violently suppressed the existence of the Mormon communes, and by 1927, nearly every one of them had been effectively extinguished. In response, a sense of spiritual dread overtook the Mormons. Many of them were forced into collective farms or were sent to factories as part of Lenin's "Five Year Plan" move to industrialization. The Russian Mormons grew a deep identity of collective martyrdom, as many of their supposed modern apostles and prophets were executed or sent to exile in Siberia. Thus, the surviving Mormons took their ideology underground and would go on to cooperate with other persecuted minority Christians of all beliefs in the many years of the Soviet Union's existence. The Mormons collectively had a hope in the future restoration of their way of life, and had a hope that God would someday intervene. Their identity drew heavy parallels between their way of life and post-Abrahamic Israelism; the Soviets were identified as the proverbial Egypt, Lenin as Pharoah, and the Russan Mormons as the enslaved Jews. This idea evolved into an influential folk belief among the Mormons that God would one day send a promised apostle or prophet like Moses who would deliver them from their slavery and institute a new and true word of God, just as their martyred leaders before them did in the preceding centuries. Mormon Revival (February 1990) On February 7th of 1990, the Soviet Union saw the secession of six Baltic Republics into independent states. In preceding years, the Soviet political climate had been extraordinarily tense as a result of Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of ''glasnost ''and ''perestroika. In conjuction with the new political freedom of the Soviet citizens, the repressed Mormon movement began to speak out for the first time in generations. The secession of these republics ignited at once a sense of apocalyptic unity among the Russian Mormons, who began proclaiming the immediate fulfillment of their long-held hopes: a true prophet would arise who would lead them out of bondage and into freedom. Many Russian Mormons rose up and proclaimed apostolicity and prophethood upon themselves, but there were no claimaints to the "prophetic prophet" position. These contemporary Mormon leaders took on decidedly apocalyptic tones, speaking from the Book of Revelation from the Bible to explain contemporary events, albeit in a fairly loose and open-ended manner. The successive charisma of the Russian Mormons led them to reorganize themselves into a fairly structured entity calling itself "The Russian Church of Jesus Christ of Mormons", which had an ecclessiastical structure nearly identical to that of the American Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On February 9th of 1990, two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived from the United States in Moscow, unaware of the terse political climate. When they arrived and were greeted with loyal Russian Christians calling themselves Mormons, they were highly confused but determined to spread the Restored Gospel. Almost immediately, a revival swept the Russian Mormons as they proclaimed their long awaited prophet to be Joseph Smith, nearly unaware of even his existence due to the harsh Soviet repression of information. When the Mormons learned of Smith's attempt to send missionaries into Russia and their violent oppression by the Tsarists and the Soviets after them, they experienced a renewed and deep-seated hatred for the Soviet state. The Soviet Union was identified as Babylon and the Russian Mormons as Zion in the midst of them. Additionally, the Mormon apostles and prophets proclaimed the Missionaries to be a fulfilment of the Two Witnesses of the book of Revelation, a belief widely accepted by the Mormons at large. It was extraordinarily easy for the Russian Mormons to accept the Latter-day Saint Restored Gospel; they saw the very same principles in American Mormonism, such as spiritual marriage, continuing revelation, and the immediate and personal presence of God, as they had long been practicing in Russian Mormonism. Russian Mormon leaders welcomed the missionaries and began proclaiming the truth of the Book of Mormon and the status of Joseph Smith as their prophet who was to deliver them. The laity of the Russian Mormon Church began referring to the Book of Mormon as "our book". Within a matter of weeks, thousands of the Russian Mormon faithful were baptised into the faith by their own leaders, now wielding the authority of the LDS priesthood. The missionaries conferred the Aaronic and Melchizidek priesthoods upon the existing Russian Mormon leaders, and they reported back to the Utah-based Church the success of the mission. The involvement of the missionaries would prove to be short-lived, however. When they came into Novouzensk, regarded as holy territory by the Russian Mormons, the missionaries were killed by Soviet soldiers. Their bodies were not recovered, and belief widely spread that they had been ressurected and ascended to Paradise. The Russian Mormons were left with an immediately clear sense of identity and legitimate theological authority. They reacted against the crumbling Soviet government, calling for the nonownership of land and the dissolution of Soviet authority. Due to the political climate, the Russian Mormons were unable to communicate with the Utah-based LDS Church. Creation of the Liberterrian Movement (March 1990 to July 1991) On March 4th, 1990, the ruling coalition of the Soviet Union collapsed as democratic referenda across the nation led to the establishment of several more independent republics. Political anarchists within the RCJCM met in Moscow in a spirit of faith and action, and formed the simply named Liberterrians, colloquially referred to as the Free Landers. In a conscious mirror of the Makhnovist days, they began to once more assemble into communes across the nation and called for the disestablishment of political control over land so that they could openly and freely practice their faith. This quickly evolved into the political notion of the Free Territory, another very conscous mirror of Nestor Makhno and his anarchists, and the ideology was united with Latter-day Saint Zionism, Russian Mormon communalism, Tolstoyan anarchism, and 16th century Non-Possession. Lines between politics and religion were severely blurred; the majority of RCJCM leaders endorsed the Free Territory ideology, justifying it from the Book of Mormon's concepts of Zionism and Joseph Smith's notion of United Order. Main article: Articles of Faith of the Russian Church of Jesus Christ of Mormons '' In late April of 1990, the Church gave it's first official proclaimed doctrine in the form of the "Articles of Faith". The Articles outlined Jesus Christ as the centrepiece of the faith; the triumvirate of St. Nilus, Ivan Grigorev Kanygin, and Leo Tolstoy as the instruments of God for the foundation of their faith; and the supremacy of Joseph Smith, Jr. as their modern prophet from whom all authority stemmed. They were met with much heated opposition from the Orthodox Church, and for the first time, the RCJCM proclaimed itself to be the sole legitimate presence of Christianity in Russia. The faith continued to grow with the rapidly crumbling Soviet Union. Presiding Bishops appointed by the Church held equivalent positions in the organization of the Liberterrian Movement. These Bishops would not only offer spiritual guidance to their congregations, but led them to establish true communes in a United Order fashion outside of Soviet influence. Because of their willingness to freely take in all who were in need, the RCJCM swelled in faithful and began to be recognized as a legitimate threat to the continued existence of the Soviet Union. The situation threatened civil war when Red troops collided with Liberterrian partisans on multiple occasions. Foundation of the Free Territory (August 1991) In August of 1991, the coup attempt of the Soviet military left the government in ruins. When Gorbachev's appearance in Soviet media informed the people of the ongoing coup attempt, the Liberterrians took the opportunity to consolidate as many of it's communes as possible. Liberterrian leaders met with panicked but sympathetic members of Parliament in Moscow; Liberterrian laymen joined the people in opposition to the coup attempt, and the movement became an immediately clear face of Russian sovereignty in the face of tyranny. In the midst of the crisis, Liberterrian factions of the government proclaimed the imminent release of Soviet control over the land, and Liberterrian leaders were quick to apply the name "Free Territory" to this notion. In impassioned public speeches broadcast over media, Liberterrian leaders recalled the Free Territory of Ukraine, imposing in the public mind a present choice between true freedom or violent repression. While coup leaders and Soviet officials alike were quick to condemn this dichotomy, popular support reigned with the Liberterrians, thus beginning a reactionary influence war. This event is regarded as the formation of the Free Territory, as Liberterrian government factions were quick to mobilize their availible resources to ensure the existence of the Free Territory. When the coup collapsed on August 21st, the government scrambled to meet in Moscow admist mounting public pressure to enact immediate and drastic reform in accordance with public referenda. Reorganization (September to December 1991) Over a period of approximately three months, the Soviet territories lacked effective government. Various nationalistic and political movements vyed for control of territory, and violence quickly spread, all the while the Soviet government rushed to reorganize itself and consolidate as much power as possible. Officials were quick to align themselves with these various movements. Condemners of the political violence were quick to side with the most united and apparent front of the Soviet government: the Liberterrians. They called for an end to political borders and ideology, which won some of the support of the nationalist movements; for the first time in decades, political borders collapsed and ethnic groups reunited themselves. The Free Territory was quick to offer them asylum, which many of them happily accepted. On December 1st, 1991, the Soviet Union was officially dissolved and reorganized with much of it's territory, assets, and influence lost. Various parts of the former Soviet Union organized itself using their local governments into democratic republics. Other parts retained it's sense of socialism, wholly apart from the Soviet Union. Much of Russia's territory fell under the active influence of the Liberterrians, and the newly formed nations across the board formally recognized the existence of the Free Territory. Formative Period (January 1992 to March 1994) As a result of the brutal economic collapse, the leaders and formerly Soviet factions of the Free Territory formed a provisional protectorate in Novouzensk with the intent. In the years leading up to March of 1994, the Protectorate worked to nonviolently sieze and organize assets across the Free Territory without the use of money. Free Territory inhabitants were put to work and availible resources distributed; with many of them being Mormons, this came with relative ease. In April of 1993, the Protectorate adopted as it's official religion the Russian Church of Jesus Christ of Mormons, and open communication with the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints occurred for the first time in decades. After verifying that the Priesthood authority of the Church was valid, being traced back to the missionaries that seemingly vanished, the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially recognized the baptism and Saint-hood of the entire Russian Church of Jesus Christ of Mormons, and proclaimed them as an administration of the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS, the first time the Church had ever lent recognition to a body not under it's direct ecclesiarchal control. In return, the Russian Church recognized the leadership of the First Presidency and completed construction of a temple in late March 1994. Reform Era (March 1994 to current) As of January 1994, the Free Territory Protectorate has announced the entirety of Russia to be Free Territory. This claim has been met with mixed opinions of open hostility and popular appeal; as a result, hundreds of communes have arisen in the many self-proclaimed democratic and socialist republics, as well as in Reorganized Soviet territory, and have enjoyed open communion with the Free Territory. Media speculates the inevitable dissolution of the republics in favor of Free Territory integration. 'Parliament Fire (March 1994) A fire destroyed the entire Parliament building in Moscow. Arson was ruled out, and Free Territory Protectorate officials released that it was a simple technical failure. The Reorganized Soviet Parliament has attempted to cast blame on the "anarchist extremists of the Free Territory". In their attempt to capitalize on the incident, neo-Soviet troops have been sent to the newly-built Novouzensk Temple. Simultaneously, the Protectorate made additional progress in the repealing of Soviet-era control through the destruction of it's citizens communication records. This led to a statistical rise in unsolved crimes, but critics are quick to point out the already relatively low crime rate of the Free Territory. '''The Autumn Revolution (April to December 1994) The Protectorate additionally released a referendum in April to all Free Territory inhabitants concerning the influence of lobbyists on the Protectorate, an action met with much approval from citizen unions. The Free Territory showed widespread animosity towards lobbyists, which has led to a severe decrease in lobbying; the remaining lobby activity has since taken place outside of the public eye. In late April of 1994, food prices collapsed due to a large bumper crop, which led to increasing pressure on the Protectorate to expedite the move towards true anarchism. The rising concern over the agricultural "market" of the Free Territory led to the Autumn Revolution, wherein Autumn of 1994, the Protectorate officially condemned all titles of nobility in the Free Territory and seized all noble property. This has led to a markedly socialist system of collective farms in which former kulak ''property is run by Protectorate-managed collective syndalicist companies. Critics of the system draw parallels to the Soviet Stalinist era, but it has been met with widespread support all over the Free Territory. The Revolution caused a massive dive in the Regent's power and influence within the Protectorate, where officials have been accusing him of constructing a neo-Soviet system and undoing the progress of anarchism within the Free Territory. The common people of the Free Territory, however, have been publicly vocal in their support of the Revolution. Some fear that the Regent could be intending to lead the anarcho-proletariat to overthrow the Protectorate to continue his influence. Soon after the Revolution's conclusion, the Regent instituted a political reform which allows for popular referenda to depose of Protectorate officials whom the people do not feel are adequately serving the Free Territory; since the insitution of the reform, no protectorate official has made any promises to the people on any issue whatsoever. Additionally, Protectorate critics have noted the Regent's continually declining health. 'Cannabilism Scandal and Orphanage Reform (Spring 1995) In Spring of 1995, a public scandal erupted over cannibalism wherein the "shocking arrest of a cannibal who followed his victim's own order to carve himself up for dinner has caused a public outcry and brings up ethical questions". In the most controversial position yet articulated by the Protectorate, the Regent offically issued a statement neither condemning nor condoning cannabalism, but determined that it was an act for private individuals to dictate. Supporters have called this a landmark, if not ambiguously ethical, accomplishment for the cause of anarchism. The Protectorate additionally disestablished the system of orphanages that had existed since Soviet times, instead opting for a Protectorate-run system of of foster care. Finally, the Protectorate submitted an official application to join the international Komitern Alliance, ''a supranational union of communist nations. 'Autumn 1995 The Free Territory officially joined the Komitern in early late Autumn of 1995. A survey taken by Protectorate demographers showed that the "free will of the people" is the highest value of the inhabitants of the Free Territory. Protectorate officials noted this as proof of their continuing mission of moving the Free Territory towards anarchism. Additionally, families have begun to take in orphans to improve their household allotment. A slew of new policies were introduced by the Protectorate in this political season. The Protectorate issued a referandum on the matter of gender based wage inequality; taxes paid to the Protectorate for the continuing move towards anarchism were once again lowered. The former caused enterprises to consciously pay lesser fees for women in order to force the Protectorate to cover the difference; the latter has made the Free Territory a viable international competitor. The Protectorate began offering funding to the Church to establish healthcare for the poor, which has led to the Church becoming the primary issuer of healthcare in the Free Territory. An avowed Neo-Nazi group announced a rally in the the administrative capital Paterria in the Novouzensk region, which sparked a major controversy over the move towards anarchism in the sense of leaving the Soviet past behind while keeping fascist influence down. After much debate, the Protectorate announced it's first militarist move and allowed neo-Makhnovist anarchists to engage the Nazis in Paterria. This move has sparked the Paterria Civil War, with running gun battles throughout the streets day and night. 'Winter 1995' The Protectorate instituted massive changes in the winter season of 1995. It overhauled it's old paper system that perpetuated much of it's bureaucracy and instead digitized all data in a massive computer system. In addition, the budget was reformed with massive tax cuts across the board. 'Summer 1996' Many issues came across the Regent's desk, but most of them were dismissed as superfluous or unncessary for the existence of an anarchist collective. The Protectorate issued a directive preventing managers of labor fronts from building in excessive compensation as a bonus, a markedly socialist move. In a bold move, all immigration controls were dissolved. Category:Liberterannia Category:Misc Category:Liberterrania